Open Source / Open Science Lead

Note: This position is still open as of 12/09/22

CarbonPlan is a non-profit working on data and science for climate action.

We aim to ensure the quality, scientific integrity, and transparency of climate solutions. We analyze solutions based on the best available science and data and build open source tools and data products. We work directly with decision makers across the public and private sector to help them achieve ambitious climate goals. You can read more about our work on our website.

Job description

At CarbonPlan we use software and data to facilitate our climate action goals. As the Open Source / Open Science Lead, your primary responsibilities will be to provide technical vision and leadership around open software and data and to manage a small software engineering and data science team. You will help establish norms around software development and open data sharing that are used across our organization, and maintain an open source software stack that powers our technical work. You will guide team contributions to open source and open science ecosystems, both in the context of existing grant-funded work and by identifying and pursuing new funding opportunities. And you will coordinate the team’s efforts toward our policy and product goals, including data and engineering work that directly enables our tools, resources, and other products. This role reports to the Executive Director. If you are passionate about open source, open science, and working on climate change, please apply!

You will:

• Provide technical vision and leadership around open approaches to software development, data sharing, and reproducible science by establishing best practices and facilitating their use across our work
• Manage a team doing software development, data engineering, and data analysis
• Identify grant-funded opportunities to contribute to open source and open science efforts (e.g., new libraries, formats, standards, etc.) and guide existing team contributions
• Guide data, analysis, and engineering efforts in alignment with our policy and product goals (browse carbonplan.org/research for examples of products including tools, articles, and data)
• Maintain a software stack built around scientific Python, cloud computing and data storage (on Azure, AWS, and Google), Jupyter and JupyterHub
• Oversee the curation of documentation, tutorials, data catalogs, and other related technical content (e.g., blog posts)

Requirements

You should have:

• Passion for our mission
• 6+ years using scientific Python in either a research or software setting (NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, etc.)
• 3+ years directly supervising a technical team (in either a research or software setting)
• Strong opinions on best practices for open, reproducible computational science
• Experience using and contributing to open source ecosystems
• Commitment to mentorship and individual growth
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience working in highly collaborative and cross-functional environments
• A portfolio of open source software contributions

You’ll be an especially good fit if you have:

• Experience using tools such as Xarray, Zarr, Dask, Scikit-learn, and/or PyTorch
• Experience using and/or managing cloud computing infrastructure and cloud data storage
• Experience in a relevant subject matter domain, including but not limited to, earth sciences, geospatial analysis, and remote sensing
• Experience applying for and securing funding, such as data or software development budgets or research grants
• Experience with technical writing
• Experience with academic research processes
• Interest in how open science principles can contribute to accountability work
• Interest in applying your core competencies in support of broader public interest outcomes

You should include in your application:

• A link to a portfolio of software contributions (on GitHub or similar),
• Your Resume / CV, and
• Please provide answers to each of the following questions:
  • What excites you about working at CarbonPlan, and about this specific position?
  • Discuss relevant experience working with open source software and open science.
  • Discuss relevant experience with team management and supervision.
  • Describe your vision for how to best make computational work open and reproducible.
  • At CarbonPlan, we value the diversity of experiences and perspectives in climate work. What life experiences and perspectives would you bring to this team in that regard?

CarbonPlan is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace. Addressing climate change requires confronting systems that create inequity and injustice, and doing so will require a team with culturally diverse perspectives. All qualified applications — regardless of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, sexual identity, national or ethnic origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, and any other occupationally irrelevant criteria — will receive full consideration. We especially encourage applications from individuals from underrepresented groups in science, technology, and environmental organizations.

Benefits

We are committed to providing competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits to our employees. We offer fixed salary levels based on experience and role to minimize biases in compensation and to ensure team members are paid the same for doing the same work. Employees are eligible for promotion or salary increases every six months at the time of their performance review.

We expect this position to be a regular, full-time position, with an annual salary of $145,000 USD. However, we are open to some variance in experience, which may affect the resulting level and annual salary. In addition to salary, we offer a comprehensive set of benefits to all full-time employees:

• Health insurance (100% of costs covered for employees, 75% for dependents)
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• Flexible health spending accounts
• Dependent care spending accounts
• Life insurance
• 401(k) retirement fund with matching employer contribution
• Unlimited time off (expectation of a minimum of four weeks)
• 16 weeks paid parental leave
• Remote work expense reimbursements

We are not currently able to sponsor a visa for this position, and therefore can only consider applications from people who are already authorized to work in the United States. We are based primarily in San Francisco, but currently work remotely. The hiring manager for this role is in San Francisco. Remote work from any location on Pacific or Mountain Time works for us!